Source: Public Library of Science
Date: April 29, 2008
Summary:
The ability to regenerate lost body parts is unevenly distributed among higher organisms. Among vertebrates, some amphibians are able to replace lost limbs completely, while mammals are unable to regenerate complex appendages. The only exception to this rule is the annual replacement of deer antlers. The annual regrowth of these structures is the only example of regeneration of a complete, anatomically complex appendage in a mammal, and antlers are therefore of high interest to regeneration biologists.
The epimorphic regeneration of appendages may involve progenitor cells created through reprogramming of differentiated cells or through the activation of resident stem cells. Reporting in this week’s PLoS ONE in a study funded by the German Research Society, Hans J. Rolf and colleagues from the University of Goettingen and University of Hildesheim (Germany) emphasize that deer antler growth and regeneration might be reduced to a stem cell-based process.
